


Riven

by ghiblitears



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Diplomacy, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Minor Violence, Minor whump, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pidge POV, Post-Season/Series 01, ambiguously set in season 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2018-12-31 20:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12140691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghiblitears/pseuds/ghiblitears
Summary: A diplomatic mission to an alien culture goes wrong and Pidge has to step into the role of action survivor once again.





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> The fic I've been yelling about on my tumblr using the tag 'that one team forestfire fic' lives!
> 
> Riven came about partly as a love letter to my favourite two-parter from season one, 'Fall Of The Castle Of Lions'/'Tears Of The Balmera', and partly because I'm starved for canon Keith and Pidge friendship fic. Here's hoping season four delivers.
> 
> This is canon compliant, pre-season 3.
> 
> Enjoy!

The Javral were as creepy as they were distrustful. Pidge couldn't exactly blame them; a milennia of solitude following ten thousand years of war against the Galra had left the alien civilisation relatively untouched, but far from welcoming. Apparently the Paladins' arrival on their planet had been their only outside contact in several thousand years. 

 

That itself would have made for a tense situation. But apparently having only two-fifths of Voltron present was making the Javral's leader suspicious.

 

They'd congregated in the Great Hall soon after their arrival; the leader, a particularly tall alien with the moniker of 'Krau Vox', stood in front of them, long fingers curled over some sort of ceremonial staff. Several other aliens (his family? His court? Pidge couldn't tell.) clustered around him and regarded them with their large, unblinking eyes. They looked strange even among alien standards, with eyes as dark as night and an oddly flat look to them, without any reflection. This coupled with their impressive height, long limbs, snow-white skin and blood red facial markings was enough to unnerve her.

 

Pidge could tell that Keith was as off-put as she was. He stood attentively to her left and stared down Krau Vox, his gaze levelled and his back ramrod straight. They'd made the conscious choice to keep their bayards sheathed, but the way he was clenching and unclenching his fist made it fairly obvious that he would feel better with his sword at hand. Pidge wouldn’t have minded having hers, either, for that matter.

 

For the seventh time since they'd entered the planet's atmosphere, she wished the whole team was with them.

 

Their mission was nothing they hadn’t done already. Talk to the Javral, win them over, make an alliance, and then move on. No one had turned down union with Team Voltron; as the sole opposition to the empire, they didn’t have much in the way of competition. And yet...

 

“We’ve heard that Voltron is the strongest weapon in the universe. Is this true?" Krau Vox asked. He looked between the two of them, unimpressed, though it was hard to tell with his alien eyes. Maybe he could tell that neither of them particularly liked dealing in diplomatic relations.

 

"Yes." Keith's reply was short, barely betraying the tension behind it. Pidge resisted the urge to elbow him in the side.

 

"If it is, why have you come to us for help? Should you not be able to take on the Galra on your own?"

 

"We need all the help we can get," she said.

 

"We're working with the Blade of Marmora, the Olkari, the Klyh, and the Yua to slow them down," said Keith. "The mermaids on Treissar and the Balmerans are helping us any way they can. And we’ve heard about how you resisted the Galra. If you joined us in the Voltron Alliance, it could tip the scales."

 

Krau Vox began to tap his long fingers against the staff, a methodical ping that echoed through the chamber.

 

Allura had drilled in the importance of diplomacy when engaging the Javral. "There's a reason they've had so few dealings with the Galra," she'd said. The Alteans hadn't had much contact with them before their fall, and she'd admitted that it was mostly due to the fact that they were a bit prickly about outsiders. But the few times they’d been successful had paid off immensely. She and Coran hoped that would be the case here.

 

Krau Vox halted the rhythmic tapping and trained his eyes on them again. "I understand your concern for the universe. However, the Javral have had no need for union since we fought our own war three thousand years ago. What would we gain from helping you?"

 

Pidge steeled herself, and spoke; "With all due respect, there won't be a universe left if they have their way."

 

Somehow, that didn't satisfy him. It was weird enough that the 'we're Paladins of Voltron, we want you to join our cool galactic alliance against the empire' card hadn't been an automatic win for once. It was weirder still that he didn't seem concerned with the probable destruction of anything not already taken by the empire. She almost wanted to draw a diagram for him. Or write him an essay titled _Hey, Alien Weirdo, Here’s How Zarkon Will Blow Up Your House_.

 

"I will consider your offer. You will be reached sometime within the next few vargas. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy our hospitality."

 

"Thank you," she said.

 

Keith nodded in agreement, still watching Krau Vox with that suspicious look. "If you need us, we'll be talking with our teammates."

 

They exited the room. Pidge swore she could still feel those cold eyes on her as they left, and she shivered involuntarily.

 

The Green and Red Lions stood watchful at the entrance to the castle. Even with almost a year of Paladin training under her belt, seeing them perk up as they approached never failed to lift her spirits at least a little. Their liveliness was subtle — how the lions’ eyeshields shone just a bit brighter at the sight of them, the light flash of their metallic ears pricked towards her and Keith, the way their tails flicked as they drew closer.  She still had no idea what kind of weird ancient technology made them so lifelike, but it comforted her all the same. The Green Lion's essence nudged at the edge of her mind, and she smiled at the welcome.

 

"Is it creepier when the aliens don't have eyes, or when they have eyes like they do?" Pidge asked aloud, jabbing her thumb back in the direction of the Javral. Keith threw her an exasperated sideways glance.

 

"It's amazing how fast your diplomacy drops as soon as we're out of the room," he replied drily, though she caught the edges of a smile as he turned away. "We want these guys to like us, Pidge."

 

She shrugged in a 'sorry-not-sorry' way. “I’m just sayin’. Taujeerians, or these guys — who’s creepier?”

 

“I missed that mission.”

 

“Oh right, you blew up the space pod and got stranded in the middle of nowhere with Allura. Got it.”

 

His response to that was a simple “that was _your_ fault, you know” as he lead the way back to the landing zone.

 

Pidge followed him into the Red Lion's cockpit. The comms were already lit up and prepped to call the Castle, as if Red had anticipated why they'd returned. With how close Keith was to his lion, it wasn't entirely impossible. He sat down in the pilot’s seat, leaving her to hover over his left shoulder.

 

"Do you think the others are still on their missions?"

 

Keith shrugged, but his hand went to the control panel anyway. "Guess we'll find out."

 

A moment later, the eyeshield's screen opened onto a familiar scene. The bridge of the Castle of Lions filled the hologram video, empty apart from one figure centred in the middle.

 

Allura noticed the call, and moved into the middle of the display. Her face broke into a broad grin when she realized who it was. "Pidge! Keith! I hadn't expected to hear from you so soon. How is the mission going?"

 

"They're thinking it over," Keith replied.

 

“Yeah, this Krau guy doesn’t seem to understand the idea that sharing is caring,” Pidge added.

 

"That's to be expected," said Allura. "Don't worry, making you wait is just a negotiation tactic. You'll win them over, I'm sure of it."

 

"Where's everyone else?"

 

"We extracted Hunk from the Balmera about a varga ago. Not much to report from them — they’ve hit a peaceful spell and for the time being we’re content to leave them be. But Lance and Shiro haven't reported in yet from the Hericon system.” She leaned in a little closer to the monitor. This close her exhaustion was more visible; dark circles marred her eyes and her hair was pulled into an unusually messy bun, with white strands escaping left and right. It looked like she hadn’t had time to do it properly, or simply hadn’t cared to. With all their efforts to secure a proper alliance, she was probably worn out; Pidge could sympathize with that. "Assuming everything goes as expected, we should hear from them soon. The only problem now is the castle."

 

"What's wrong with it?" asked Keith.

 

"Engine four shorted out after you all left. We should have it working by the time you're done, but until then our mobility is slightly compromised. We're sticking close to one of the Blade’s outposts until Hunk and Coran can get it working again."

 

He nodded. "Makes sense."

 

A pinging alert popped up on Allura's screen, and she frowned at the interruption. "I'd better get back to the repairs too. Please report in again as soon as you're done."

 

"Roger that."

 

“And be safe!” she added before the connection cut.

 

Pidge wasn't particularly surprised at the news that the castle was malfunctioning again. Ten thousand years of lying dormant and several hundred years of battles before that meant that it had a fair bit of wear and tear. It was always breaking down in some way or another. It had become almost routine now that the Galra were on their tail most of the time; there were always turbines to flush, Teladuv lenses to polish, food goo machines to clean. None of that fazed her anymore.

 

What did surprise her was when she noticed the concern underlying Keith's otherwise neutral expression.

 

"Something wrong?" she asked.

 

"I don't know," he replied. He leaned forward in the seat until his elbows were resting against Red’s control panel. "Something about this place feels off."

 

Anyone having a bad feeling about a mission wouldn’t be good for morale, but it always unnerved her a little more when it was Keith. At times it was like he had a sixth sense — maybe it was just how observant he was, or that he was planning for a worst-case scenario, but it almost seemed like he could predict when things were about to go off the rails. She raised a curious eyebrow. "Is that why you looked so wigged out back there? These guys are creepy, but I think we've seen creepier.”

 

He stared out of Red’s eyeshield. The castle ground spread out below them; huge and sprawling. A few guards patrolled between the entrance and where they’d parked the lions. “I don’t know. I just don’t like it here.”

 

They made their way out and started back towards the castle. The Green Lion hovered at the edge of Pidge's thoughts, apparently as curious about Keith's apprehension as she was. She hoped her reassuring thoughts were enough to make her understand.

 

***

 

Several vargas passed before Krau Vox hailed them back into the Great Hall. Like last time, they weren’t alone, but Pidge counted at least twice as many Javral as there had been before; it looked as though he'd brought in some sort of council to discuss the terms of the alliance, and they were grouped to the right of the leader, pointedly eyeing the Paladins and whispering among each other. They were standoffish, preferring to stare indiscreetly at them from afar rather than try and speak to them. She didn’t think much of it — it wasn’t the first time an alien species at gawked at them, and it wouldn’t be the last.

 

They’d been forced to play a waiting game for the better part of the day, and by the time they went back Pidge was bored out of her mind and half-prepared to hop into Green and fly away, union be damned. Keith, who was more prone to taking off on his own, had spent more time studying the aliens than talking with them, and had only thrown a few half-answers at her attempts at conversation. He must have still been thinking about whatever had been bugging him back in Red.

 

“Paladins of Voltron,” Krau Vox began. “I have discussed the terms of the alliance among my subjects, and we have reached a decision.”

 

 _Finally_ , she thought.

 

“We will not join you.”

           

The room went so suddenly silent that a pin could have dropped and Pidge had no doubt she would have heard it. Keith tensed beside her, his hand curling into a fist.

           

“Why not?” he asked.

           

“To act in your alliance puts a huge strain on my people and my resources. I do not wish to lose what we’ve rebuilt since we last engaged the empire.”

           

It made sense, and yet his reasoning still didn’t align with what they’d wanted. Despite their apprehension, she was a little disappointed that they wouldn’t get the allies they needed.

           

“But there is one thing we need from you.”

           

“What’s that?” Pidge asked.

           

When she spoke, several things happened at once. The council of Javral that had been listening intently up until that point suddenly dispersed to surround her and Keith; they were lightning-fast, and caught her off-guard enough that it took her several seconds longer than it usually did to draw her bayard. Each alien carried a weapon — some had staves like Krau Vox, but most of them had wicked-looking daggers and swords.

           

“Voltron holds our interest.” He drew his staff and pointed it towards them. It too had a pointed tip, but what caught Pidge’s attention was the matrix of buttons that marked the handle — the section he had been tapping on earlier. “The strongest weapon in the galaxy in the hands of the Javral will destroy the Galra forever. It’s wasted on your alliance and your peace-loving Alteans.”

           

Keith drew his bayard and steadied himself, dropping into a defensive stance. “You’re not getting Voltron!”

           

“Yeah, if you think we’re just going to hand over the Lions—“ Pidge started before Krau Vox cut her off.

           

“You won’t. I’m content to take them by force.”

           

The circle of Javral exploded into chaos, lunging towards them with their weapons drawn. Pidge sidestepped the first one that got close, snaking her bayard’s grappling hook out to snag his leg. A sharp pull brought him crashing to the ground, and she quickly retracted it, the weapon snapping back up into the handle of the bayard. Behind her Keith had gone on the offensive, slashing widely with his sword and keeping the Javral largely at bay. One alien leaped closer and struck; the metallic clang of their swords clashing echoed off the hall’s high ceilings. Pidge focused back on the ones approaching her. A year of Paladin training had accustomed them to fighting side-by-side, and she knew he would watch her back.

           

She aimed the taser and fired into another charging Javral, and although the electrical current caught her off-guard it barely slowed her down. Pidge’s eyes widened and she ducked and rolled, leaving the alien to charge past her before turning back around. These guys were immune somehow to her bayard? That wasn’t good.

           

More aliens entered the fray. She pulled up her energy shield as one Javral fired at her from a distance with a blaster. He shot several bolts rapid-fire in her direction, all of which she managed to deflect. She heard Keith draw his shield as well, and a short pinging sound as he blocked another blast. They were being separated, the Javral pushing against their defenses to draw them apart.

           

An earth-shaking roar drew everyone’s attention to the back of the hall, which burst outwards with the arrival of two familiar lions. Both lions had come in for a counterattack, but it was Red who’d smashed the front door down. Even in the midst of battle, Pidge had to appreciate just how well matched she and Keith were. Red let loose another mechanical roar as she prepared to pounce.

           

“Electro-cannon!” One alien called. “Bring the lions down!”

 

 A colossal bolt of light shot out from higher up in the hall. It enveloped Green, who seemed at first to shrug it off, but Pidge saw how the weapon had slowed her, how she ended her pounce by half-dragging across the floor. The lion stopped mid-charge and fell to the floor, seemingly lifeless. Red put up slightly more of a fight, having already leapt into the fray and taken out several more aliens before another blast ended her rampage. Both lions crashed to the floor within moments of each other.

           

Green’s presence in her mind faded, and Pidge was terrified at her silence. “No!” she cried, taking a step towards her downed lion.

           

A sharp jolt to the small of her back and a sudden surge of pain stopped the fight altogether.

           

Her bayard deactivated. It left her hand and clattered to the floor, landing just out of her reach. A scream tore sharply from her as she collapsed and landed in a heap alongside the weapon. It was like she had seized up, pain snaking through each of her limbs in a paralyzing grip. A feeling like a lightning strike cracked through her and made her vision go dark around the edges. She gasped for air.

           

“Pidge!”

           

She blinked, and the scene changed. Instead of fighting his own group of Javral, Keith stood in front of her, between where she lay prone and Krau Vox. He’d lost the energy shield somehow; all that remained was his razor-sharp bayard.

           

He made like he was going to charge, but a sudden attack from an alien on the right forced him to counter. He caught the assailant’s sword on the flat of his own, halting it. Another alien dodged in from the other side, too fast to let either of them react — this one carried a terrifying-looking dagger, curved and thin but definitively sharp. The blade glowed with a strange orange light. Pidge tried to pull herself upright, to warn him before it was too late —

           

The Javral was blindingly fast; one moment he had moved in to attack, the next he had stepped back as Keith dropped to the ground with a sharp cry. His bayard clattered to the floor and his hand moved to claw at his side where the dagger had gone in. The black material of his gloves slicked with red.

 

Her vision began to blur.

 

“Their allies will not give up Voltron easily, even with leverage. Prepare two cells and lock down the lions.” Krau Vox commanded, pulling his staff back to its normal upright position.

           

Two aliens grabbed Pidge by the arms and hauled her upright. Her head spun with the movement; things weren’t tracking correctly and her limbs had grown too heavy to move. Her head clouded and her vision staggered.

           

The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Krau Vox’s soulless eyes staring her down and the end of his staff sparking with light.


	2. Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge finds a solution, and the Paladins get ready to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I BET YOU ALL THOUGHT THIS FIC WAS DEAD
> 
> NAH SON
> 
> I reworked this chapter three times! I'm still not 100% with it, but I'm much happier with it than I was back in September, so here you go. I'm really sorry for the delay between parts ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ shit happens sometimes

Pidge's head hurt.

 

That was the first thought she had upon waking. Sharp pain stabbed behind her eyelids and she winced; it started as soon as she regained consciousness, without any grace period for her to sort through whatever the hell had just happened. The feeling was immediately followed up with a mental curse towards their backstabbing alien buddies, because _of course_ an alien species that twitchy wouldn’t want to form an alliance and _of course_ they fancied themselves better than the Defenders of the Universe. They should have seen it coming. She groaned and shifted, turning her head to the side to open her eyes slightly.

 

The room wasn't much more than a metal box. An illuminated line of yellowed light ran along the floor and threw a dim glow over the walls, reflecting slightly off their metallic base. There were no windows and no door, just a lighted panel on the wall to her right that blinked its red lights sporadically. Just your run-of-the-mill alien prison cell.

 

Her helmet lay discarded in a corner of the room, abandoned sometime between the fight against the Javral and when she'd been brought to the cell. She brought her arm up to examine her gauntlet — the teal indicator light blinked twice, stuttered, and then died before it could activate its holographic display.

 

She inhaled and exhaled once, twice, three times before she finally hauled herself up into a sitting position and reached to draw her bayard. She came up with nothing, the energy holster sparking slightly when it came into contact with her hand. Whatever electrical weapon they'd used on her must have disabled her gear. Great.

 

Then Pidge realized she was alone.

 

Shit.

 

Her memories after the attack were fuzzy, as if the weapon had scrambled those too. But she knew that Keith had been injured, and probably severely, judging by the way he'd crumpled when the Javral came at him with that knife. If there was one thing she knew about him, it was that he wouldn't be stopped an injury like that unless it was bad; Keith was practically the textbook definition of the word ‘determined’. And then there was the blood...

 

Shit, shit, _shit_.

 

She grabbed for the helmet and jammed it on -- it shook slightly in her grip, thanks to her limbs still feeling kind of like jelly. Vox's staff had really done a number on her. "Keith, are you there? Can you hear me?"

 

Only radio silence answered her — not even a crackle of static came through the helmet, confirming that it too was dead. Pidge sat back down against the wall and tried not to panic.

 

Vox had said they were leverage, ransom against the other Paladins to get them to hand over Voltron. Pidge was really sick of this game of continual keepaway with the universe, especially when one of the players was supposed to be their ally. Allura was going to be absolutely pissed when she found out, and then she would send in the rest of Team Voltron to rescue them, guns blazing. She hoped they wouldn't take too long —they didn't have that kind of time.  _Keith_  didn't have that kind of time. If he didn't get to a healing pod soon —

 

Pidge breathed in slowly, and held it for a moment before exhaling. She'd been in this situation before when the Castle had been attacked on Arus, even before they’d had proper Paladin training, and everything had ended up okay. She just needed to focus.

 

Her gaze traveled around the small room before it laser-sighted on the blinking panel on the opposite wall — was it a camera? The door's control panel?

 

After picking herself off the floor, she made her way over to it. The metal had enough give to let her slip her fingers underneath it, allowing her to pull at the panel. Popping it slightly pulled the metal grate off completely, revealing a matrix of multicoloured wires beneath. To the right was some kind of computer panel, glowing with that same strange orange light as the Javral’s weapons.

 

"Really?" she asked aloud, half to herself and half to the Javral that might be listening. It wasn’t like she hadn’t hacked her way out of a door before. She’d done it at the Garrison all time to get into Iverson’s office. Hell, once she’d figured out the control panels back in the Castle of Lions she’d done it there for _fun_. Despite the situation, she smirked at the memory. It might not have been as funny for Shiro as it had been for her...

 

_Okay, focus now_ , she thought, turning her attention back to the panel. _I’ve got a teammate to find and several alien asses to kick._

 

The potential of a fight once she was free worried her, and the idea gnawed away at her as she fiddled with the door controls. How was she supposed to defend herself without a bayard? Moreover, how was she supposed to find Keith without her gauntlet? If the main room had been any indicator, the base was huge. She had no idea how large the prison block was, or if they’d housed more than one. With how twitchy the Javral were about strangers, it probably wasn’t small.

 

“Ow!” She pulled her thumb back when it came into contact with the orange glowing lines and sparked, sending sharp pain lancing through her hand. The whole setup must be running off some kind of energy source — a volatile one, if it was the same one that powered the Javral’s weapons. If she wasn’t careful she was going to get electrocuted again.

 

Pidge pulled back and studied the panel. Surprisingly, the wiring wasn’t too far off from the ones in the Castle. If it could be hacked in the same way, it wouldn’t be too hard to get out, even without a toolset to help her. She went to work.

 

***

 

A half hour later and Pidge was almost glad she didn’t have her bayard. If she did, she probably would have stabbed something by now.

 

“Come on, do _something_ ,” she hissed. The wires in her hands steadfastly ignored her. She dropped the bundle with a groan of frustration and the wires fell, hanging off the panel like vines. The display remained stubbornly dead, as it had for the past thirty minutes since she’d unplugged the main circuits. It turned out that the Javral’s tech was nothing like Altean door controls.

 

Pidge really, really hated when technology was smarter than her.

 

“Guess I’ll try something else,” she said aloud, stepping away from the panel. The boxlike cell was starting to feel claustrophobic, which wasn’t helping her already-shot nerves. She started to pace the small room, echoing footsteps across the metal floor.

 

_Think, think!_

 

A sudden commotion outside the door made her stop short. The Javrals’ words were hard to make out through the thick metal, but it sounded like there was more than one of them; probably guards coming to check on her.

 

Pidge paused. Several months’ worth of battle training kicked her senses into overdrive, and she stepped backwards until she was pressed against the back wall, and dropped into a ready stance.

 

As dumb a move as it was, it might be her only option.

 

A moment later, the door screeched open. The Javral guard on the other side had only moments to prepare before a flying elbow intersected with what Pidge guessed (in midair, no less) was his jaw. Her foot connected with his midsection. The guard was much taller than her, but she had the element of surprise on her side, and her momentum carried herself and the alien flying across the hallway.

 

When they made contact with the opposite wall, Pidge threw her hands up. Her elbows slammed into the metal and bounced off, keeping her upright but deflecting her backwards off the wall and into the hallway. She winced at the impact, but adrenaline had fully taken over; she was on her feet and sprinting down the hall in a matter of seconds.

 

“Halt!” The second Javral guard screeched. A crackling noise and the sharp smell of ozone alerted her to the guard’s electrical staff, but she’d managed to make it out of his reach. Her feet thudded the metal floor and carried her towards her prize.

 

Pidge dropped into a slide once she reached the edge of the hall, kicking her feet out to make contact with the odd section of the wall — with what she _hoped_ was her escape. “Please be a vent!” she whispered fervently.

 

She crashed through the vent (score one for Pidge!), taking the brunt of the door’s impact with her feet, and managed to slide out of reach.

 

She’d made it.

 

The Javral still sounded like he was pursuing her, but there was no way they would be able to follow her in such a tight space. She grimaced; it was even smaller than the castle vents, and much harder to navigate without her gauntlet. But she’d take it over being trapped in that tiny cell.

 

Pidge allowed herself a moment to catch her breath, and then steeled herself for the long crawl through the walls of the base.

 

***

 

Pidge popped out of the vents about an hour later and immediately sought out the darkest corner. As soon as she did, two Javral guards passed, both holding bright glowing spears. Not electrified like Vox’s, but still presumably deadly. She didn’t really want to get close enough to find out.

 

She’d followed a combination of her best guess of the floor plan and the sounds of the Javral above her — not all of them had useful information, but she was able to gather a general idea of where she was in the base with it. This area should have been the centre of the base and the most likely spot to find the information she needed; whether or not that was true, she was about to find out.

 

A familiar voice caught her attention, and she whipped her head to find the source a little ways down the hall from where she’d come out. A quick glance down the hall told her there were no more guards, and she made her move, ducking out of the dark and making her way stealthily towards the voice.

 

A doorway opened into the communications hub and showed her a welcome sight; Vox had apparently contacted the Castle of Lions to negotiate their release — presumably their lives in exchange for all of the lions — and was in some kind of space-Skype with the rest of the Paladins. Pidge’s heart leapt at the sight of them. Unfortunately for him, the reveal that he’d been keeping them hostage meant that he had to deal with a host of vengeful Paladins and a seriously pissed-off princess.

 

"— taken two of my Paladins and their Lions, you think that will make us cooperate with you?" Allura’s voice carried through the room. Her face was slightly distorted through the holoscreen, but Pidge could see how mad she looked; her wide blue eyes were narrowed and one of her hands had thrown an accusing finger to Vox. She hadn’t changed out of her battlesuit, either, which Pidge knew meant business. "You went back on our deal, Krau Vox!"

 

"Perhaps I did," Vox replied. "But you will get nowhere in ending this war with your strategy. Force is what will drive the new era once we get rid of the Galra."

 

"Well, you'll need Voltron to defeat them, and you're not getting it!" Lance interjected from his spot behind Allura. He looked as mad as she did, glaring into the holoscreen like it had personally wronged him — and in a way, it had. He wasn’t one to hide his emotions,  but it was striking to see him this serious.

 

Shiro, to Lance’s left, was wearing an expression that to the untrained eye would look relatively calm. But she knew him well enough to see through the facade; while he was angry, there was underlying concern written on his face as well, and Pidge’s heart broke a little at the sight. To have two of his team members taken must have shaken him.

 

On the other side of Lance, Hunk was afraid. It was an expression he wore often, especially in dealings with terrifying and strange aliens, but this time she could tell that wasn’t the cause. It was fear for _them_ , she realized, for her and Keith and how they were going to get out of this situation.

 

Despite the situation, it felt good to see them. It wasn’t that long ago that they’d started their training as Paladins, and to now see them worried and working on a plan to get them out of the hands of the Javral made her feel leagues better. They would make it out okay — she could count on Team Voltron for that.

 

Pidge couldn't see his face from her position, but if she had to guess she would say Vox was smiling. "Maybe this will help you consider my offer."

 

Two new videos appeared onscreen. They both played footage that must be screened in from the prison block; in one labelled 02-XY38, Keith lay in a heap on the floor, still unconscious. The feed was grainy, too distorted to make out many details, but she thought he looked like he was breathing. The other cell was empty, and had no number.

 

Vox whirled from the monitor to turn a glare on one of his commanders. “Where is the other one?”

 

“She was placed in cellblock A-601 several vargas ago,” another Javral answered. Though their faces were a little too alien for subtle human expressions, Pidge thought this one looked apprehensive.

 

“Did you think to _disarm_ her before that?”

 

“Her gear was disabled, and there was no need to further—“ the second alien didn’t finish his sentence before Krau Vox shot him with what looked like a bolt of electricity from his staff. The commander let loose a horrifying scream as he dropped to the floor, convulsing and writhing under the staff’s influence.

 

Pidge shuddered involuntarily. Was that what he’d used on her? No wonder it had hurt her so badly.

 

“Find the Green Paladin!” With Vox’s command, a squad of Javral guards ducked through the door, and Pidge shrank back against the opposite wall, further into the shadows.

 

Allura’s voice, dangerously levelled, was the next thing she heard; “Consider it a mercy that I am allowing you to prepare, Vox.” Her voice stung with venom, and even though she wasn’t on the receiving end of it, Pidge shivered. She could be downright scary when she wanted.

 

At that, she decided it was time to get Keith and get out. The team was coming; that was all the incentive she needed.

 

Pidge took off down the hall.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, hmu on tumblr at either ghiblirey or espressopidge!
> 
> This fic will probably be in two or three parts (it's about half written as of posting). It'll likely go up between chapters of Aphelion.
> 
> Thanks for reading so far!


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